No Longer Heartless

Chapter 11: You Won't Ever Be Mine

"The Red Queen's vaults?!" Cath shrieked. "Are you mad?! That's a suicide mission!"

"I do believe that you have forgotten who you're talking to, dear," Hatta smirked.

Jest grimaced. "And you're sure that there's absolutely no other way to get the invisibility elixir?"

"I'm afraid not," Hatta frowned. "But on the bright side, if you follow the forest heading north, you'll easily find the land of the Red Queen."

"Bright side?" Cath scoffed. "How is that a bright side? It just means that we're closer to danger!"

Jest put two firm, comforting hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. We'll figure this out."

Cath felt as if she were going to faint. It had taken her so long to get her former court joker back. There was nothing she wanted more than to hold him close and kiss him and never let go. Now, they had to be put in more danger.

There was one thing Cath knew for certain: she would do whatever she had to to get Jest back to Hearts safely.

"Okay," Raven nodded. "The Red Queen doesn't keep her palace guarded very well, so retrieving the invisibility elixir shouldn't be too hard."

Cath gave a sigh of relief. "Alright. So, does this mean that we all go?"

"Actually," Elsie interjected, "I should get back to the treacle well. It can't be left unguarded for long."

"Okay," Jest said thoughtfully. "Then I guess that leaves me, Cath, and Raven."

It was decided that the next day, the three would set off for the land of the Red Queen. Fortunately, Jest hadn't done anything to upset her other than being a former subject of the White Queendom.

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"I can't believe we're doing this," Cath sighed as she, Jest, and Raven headed through the thick woods of Rook Forest.

"Well, it's either this, or I spend the rest of my days hiding in that cottage and we'll be parted forever," Jest reasoned. "Now, I was in the Red Queen's castle some time before the war started, and I happened to notice that there is a back entrance. It's near the vault, so I'm thinking that we could enter through there, grab the invisibility elixir, and run out before we get caught."

"You make it sound so easy," Cath chuckled, "but I'd say it's almost impossible to not be seen."

"Well, impossible is my specialty," Jest winked.

He wanted to kiss her so badly. It was tearing him apart internally. Waiting even one more second felt like torture. But he knew it was wrong. Wrong of him to want another man's wife. Wrong of him to call her his when she belonged to the King of Hearts.

"I wonder what he'll say," Catherine chuckled, staring down at her shoes.

"Hm?" Jest hummed, his brow still furrowed in thought.

"The King," Cath laughed softly. "Surely, he'll be back in Hearts by now. I wonder what he'll say when I return. I wonder if he's worried that I'm not there. Nobody knows where I've gone. I didn't leave a note or anything."

"If I were him, I'd be scared out of my mind," Jest said thoughtfully. "We need to get you back soon."

"But once we enter Hearts, I become married again and we can't be together," Cath moaned.

"Cath," Jest said gravely, "no matter where we go, you're still technically married. As long as the King is still alive, you belong to him. I'm afraid you won't ever be mine."